Most millennials living at home simply can’t afford to leave

July 5, 2016

Inequality

Vass Bednar, Melissa Pogue

Last month’s historic Canada Pension Plan expansion deal was hailed by The Globe and Mail as a “mission to save Gen Y.” Published on the very same day, this month’s Toronto Life cover story feels more like a mission to mock it.

The story chronicles the lifestyle-driven decisions of 31-year-old pharmacist Tony, who makes $130,000 a year, lives with his parents in North York and rejects home ownership in order to enjoy “wild, rare, unforgettable experiences.” His hedonistic narrative agitated readers, judging by the comments.

It wasn’t Tony’s ostentatiousness that offended us, though, so much as the suggestion that he is representative of a new and popular young, urban lifestyle trend. Toronto Life’s story took an outlier and presented him as a trend.

We took a quick look at publicly available data to determine whether our generation is living at home in order to live large. As it turns out, the suggestion is wildly misplaced.